Blank Draws
by BaqSlasher
Summary: Hormones catch up with a seventeen year old Sakurazaki Setsuna.Will the appearance of those new feelings interfere with her job as a protector,especially now that a new threat looms at the horizon?Meanwhile,Konoka has to deal with some of her own issues.
1. Chapter 1

**Blank Draws: Chapter 1**

Sakurazaki Setsuna had continuously maintained the habit of waking and rising early since the youngest years of her childhood. She always thought 4 up to maybe 5 hours of sleep a day were completely sufficient; anything else a pure waste of time and a simple convenience, encouraging lethargy and laziness – both attributes she could under no circumstances afford as the sworn protector of Konoe Konoka, heiress to the prestigious Konoe family.

So now, after over 9 hours of sleep, and 2 hours just rolling around under the sheets, she couldn´t help but feel an inbred amount of disdain and loathing at her actions. Admittedly, it was Sunday, and a bit of slack on her side may be cut, but the subject weighting heavily on her mind and consuming her every train of thought lead her successfully away from the idea of _ever_ getting out of bed. And that was simply not acceptable in Setsuna´s eyes.

Yet, she wasn´t capable of either snapping out of her stupor, or tearing said eyes away from the olive-painted walls of her dorm room, thoughts a thousand miles away, far woven into the realms of pubertal issues. Yes, Sakurazaki Setsuna was fighting a running battle with what almost every healthy seventeen-year old, male as female, had to suffer from at one point or another.

Relentless, overpowering, raging _hormones_.

And the protagonist of her every hormone-induced little fantasy and daydream was currently having lunch with a man twice to thrice her age, looking to enhance his political power as well as social standing, probably with a little flavor of sexual excitement at the barely legal temptation.

Setsuna shuddered at the thought, and could only guess that the combination of want, lust, anger, disappointment and jealousy provoked her body to temporarily shut down and simply refuse any extensive movement that required her mind to actually focus on her actions, not fantasize about a certain chestnut-haired girl, panting and begging beneath her naked body.

A sigh escaped the young girl as she felt a familiar rush of warmth fill the area of her lower abdomen, not lacking the accompanied rush of wetness between her tightly crossed legs at the thought and mental image of the aforementioned.

A humorless chuckle escaped her throat, as she could only guess her sleepwear, blankets, and covers were now spoiled beyond recognition and in dire need of a washing machine. A task she could not neglect for that much longer, in case any of her friends suddenly decided to come by on a whim and drag her out of bed. That would, without a doubt in Setsuna´s mind, cause a scene that she was better off without witnessing.

With a groan, Setsuna tossed around in bed for the umpteenth time, frustrated that her thoughts so quickly and easily turned back to one very attractive mage-in-practice.

She didn´t even know when it started, the lusting and wanting. As far as she was able to evaluate in her current state, it was a quiet, gradual increase of general awareness. Certain things she before had never paid much attention to, now led her heart, breath, and lubrication of certain private areas of her body to accelerate to frightening heights.

Now, when a soft (she could only imagine), pink tongue raked out to wet dry lips, time seemed to slow down as her eyes almost pathetically clung to the sight presented before her. Words seemed to be drowned out by the blood rushing in her ears, and her peripherals misted over, the display in focus demanding her entire attention.

As an ordinary, regular high school girl those feelings may have been acceptable eventually, albeit possibly quite confusing, seeing how it was the same sex she was lusting after, but as a trained swordsman, the traits of alertness, efficiency, concentration, and mental attendance at any time were irrevocably drilled into her mind ever since she could remember, and yet…

And yet, Konoe Konoka apparently possessed the ability to evaporate her yearlong training with a single touch, look, or movement of her body. If the foundation of her skills as a swordsman, protector, and half-blooded demon could be destroyed as easily as that, Setsuna seriously began to consider her competence as a securer of Konoka´s safety and well-being.

One dazed moment in a wrong one, and… Setsuna didn´t even want to think about it. The mere thought of the endless possibilities of what could happen if she, in lack for a better term, screwed up, made her literally sick to the stomach.

In hope of shutting out the images of all the what-ifs that invaded her mind, she lazily draped one arm over her eyes, and tried to focus on Konoka, safe, alive, happy, and – she couldn´t help it – somewhat naked.

After a few moments, her mind was actually back on its usual track. Setsuna couldn´t complain though, since gorgeous, naked Konoka was undoubtedly a far better choice to think about than tortured, dead Konoka. That much was clear.

"Utterly ridiculous," Setsuna mumbled into the quiet room, strangely finding amusement in this twisted situation.

Before she could continue the train of thought however, a loud knock on the door startled her out of it.

"Secchan?" An all too familiar voice called through the door, and Setsuna´s eyes widened proportionately to the amount of wetness and sweat she spotted with a single look under her blankets. "Are you in there?"

"Just stay calm and she goes away… probably… hopefully…" Setsuna whispered to herself, hoping for her self-assurance to calm her erratically beating heart – to no avail, as she noticed a few seconds later.

She knew her door was not locked, and if even if it was, she had given Konoka a key years ago, and the brunette surely didn´t fail to make use of it sometimes. Setsuna only pleaded to whatever entity was watching her right now, that the girl in front of her door was convinced that she wasn´t inside, and didn´t bother to come in and check.

Luck, unfortunately, wasn´t on her side. The door slowly opened with a slight creak, and chocolate-brown orbs carefully peaked inside.

For a short moment, Setsuna thought about lying flat down and just pulling the blankets over her head, hoping Konoka wouldn´t notice. That idea however, was quickly dismissed when she thought about what would happen if the brunette saw through her little act. The embarrassment couldn´t be properly described with words.

So instead, Setsuna just pulled the blankets up to her chin, and sat up. A quick look at Konoka´s slightly perplexed and surprised expression, and she knew she had to explain her lack of response from before, additionally to the fact of why she was still lying in bed at this time of the day.

"H-Hey," Setsuna stuttered out nervously, her voice tense. "Aren´t you supposed to be eating lunch with your future husband?"

The words came out harsher than intended and Setsuna felt her face turn red with shame at the look of hurt flashing on Konoka´s face. She mentally cursed herself for her damn feelings going haywire and severing the connection between her brain and mouth.

"I apologize, that was uncalled for," Setsuna quickly muttered, avoiding eye contact with the young mage.

After a moment, Konoka spoke up for the first time, her voice not as light as usually. Setsuna had a suspicion it had something to do with her brash rudeness just then.

"We ended our… meeting prematurely," she shrugged, an uneasy smile on her face. "I thought we could instead do something today, you know? Just like old times…"

Setsuna glanced up at that, a pensive look adorning her features. It was true. They barely had any one-on-one time anymore, with both their training and Setsuna´s increasing amount of missions outside of Mahora taking up the majority of their time. The only time they really saw each other was in class and every now and then for the occasional breakfast and dinner at Konoka´s and Asuna´s dorm room.

"Ah," Setsuna nodded slowly, her eyes gazing right back into hopeful hazel ones. She didn´t have the heart to decline, despite common-sense´s objections to the idea. "Of course, Kono-chan. If you desire to, we can spend the day together. Any suggestions as to what we should do?"

Setsuna couldn´t help but smile at Konoka´s expression, looking genuinely happy and relieved.

_`Everything´s going to be fine, Setsuna. Just keep your cool and remember that this is Ojou-sama. No dry-humping, no matter how much you want to.´_

"Well," the mage started after a thoughtful moment, blissfully oblivious to her bodyguard´s mental prep talk. "You know how we always crawled together in bed when we were kids, just talking about anything and everything?" Konoka´s eyes softened at the remembrance of their younger years together, but when she saw Setsuna´s extremely nervous expression, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Ever since she entered the room, something about her oldest friend seemed… off. She couldn´t really put a finger on it, but she had noticed it a few times before over the course of the past weeks. The avoidance of eye-contact, shunning her touch, ignoring her calls from across the hallway, the nervous and evasive demeanor Setsuna sometimes adopted…

It all puzzled Konoka, but she hoped today was the day she could get some answers to her questions.

"So," the healer continued when it seemed that Setsuna wasn´t going to say anything. "What do you think about repeating that? Just for old time´s sake. Plus, I really want you to clue me in on some things that are going on in your life recently. We haven´t had a real chance to talk these past months, so this may be the best chance we get, right?"

Setsuna blinked a few times, her mind going into overdrive as Konoka´s suggestion sank in.

_`Crawling together in bed,´_ she repeated the words in her mind, already having improper images in her mind to accompany them, and loudly swallowed.

It certainly wasn´t that she didn´t _want_ to, the exact opposite was in fact the case. It was more that she _couldn´t_. There was simply no way – Setsuna stole a quick glance down at the blankets of her bed and squirmed uncomfortably in her wet clothes – that she could let Konoka come anywhere near the bed, much less _inside_.

Only as she noticed Konoka slowly walking towards her, probably taking her silence as an affirmation, did the panic set in.

"N-No!" Setsuna hurriedly blurted out. "You- You can´t come here!" At Konoka´s confused and hurt look, she quickly elaborated, the adrenalin rushing through her body making her voice tremble as she spoke. "I´m… I´m sick, contagious, and I wouldn´t want you to catch anything. That´s actually why I´m still in bed, trying to rest…"

Setsuna didn´t really have any confidence in her rather rushed and lame excuse, so when Konoka´s eyes did indeed widen in worry and guilt, and she took a step back, Setsuna was in a very morbid way pleased. She would rather have her friend flee the room, worried and guilty, than have her in her drenched bed right then, right next to her very own drenched persona.

Konoka however was thinking in different terms, reckoning that she had made sense of the weird manners her best friend behaved in. _`So that´s why she was so weird the past weeks… She was getting down with something.´_

She winced at the implications that brought along and remorsefully shook her head. Was she really that self-absorbed? Not even noticing her best friend was getting sick? With a vow not to let her friend suffer through her problems alone again, she swiftly made her way towards Setsuna´s bed, completely ignoring the look of horror on her friend´s face.

"W-Wait!" Setsuna rushed out, though it only stopped Konoka for a short moment in her tracks. "I´m naked!" She grasped the blankets tighter to her chin, hoping the brunette hadn´t already seen the white shirt beneath, and that the false admission would actually stop Konoka from progressing any further. Heck, even _she_ could smell the arousal in the air, so it already was a wonder Konoka hadn´t noticed or said anything.

"Oh," the young girl stopped mid-step, an unreadable expression on her face, eyes transfixed on something behind Setsuna. "Well," she cleared her throat after a few seconds. "I´ll bring you something to wear then."

Already moving towards the closet at the other end of the room, she was oblivious to the panic attack that took place on the other side of the room.

Eyes wide, mouth agape, hands shaking, breath near the level of hyperventilation, Setsuna sat glued in place. No matter how hard she tried to find some kind of solution to get her out of this mess, there was nothing coming to mind. _Nothing_.

"Kono-chan," Setsuna started unsure, not even sure herself what next words were coming out of her mouth. She simply kept staring at the light pattern of her blanket. "Would you mind if we postpone your plan? I… I just need to be alone right now. Please."

Konoka had stopped rummaging through the drawers and closet by then, surprised by the distance she felt Setsuna trying to put up between them. Her words, the way she said it, her posture, the look. Konoka didn´t know what to make of it, but she sure didn´t like it.

Her thoughts suddenly turned a darker route, memories of the latest years swamping her mind, and painfully reminding her of things she desperately wished to forget. Her disgraceful feelings, the shame she felt at her actions, the conflicted, tortured look in her best friend´s eyes as the cursed words left her lips, the instant moment of regret washing over her.

It still shamed her in great respects. In a night of drunken stupor, she took claim of her best friend and protector. She still remembered the words clearly with which she doomed everything they had. She could hear it resonating sometimes through her mind in dark, sleepless nights, when she´s losing herself in thoughts of the past.

"_You´re mine! No one is allowed to take you away from me, Secchan, no one!"_

_`Pathetic,´ _Konoka thought as the events of the night replayed in her mind, reminding her of what a selfish creature she really was. It had, after all, been purely _her _privilege to witness the true beauty of Setsuna, inside out. No one else was allowed or even supposed to bask in the dark-haired girl´s glory, it was _hers_, hers alone, a dark voice in the back of her mind had whispered in weak moments.

Oh, how she cursed and damned it to the deepest pits of all hells.

After all of Setsuna´s efforts to come to terms with the possibility that maybe, yes, she was worth more than she had thought; that, yes, she was allowed to smile once in a while, indulge in a bit of fun from time to time, have friends, dare enjoy her newly found life, _she_ had to go and ruin it with falsely placed entitlement to something that never even belonged to her to begin with.

Konoka knew that she had destroyed far more than she thought possible with her words, and ways to repent she had not found yet.

But how could she have known…

_`She was sworn to you, of course she would obey,´_ a voice in her mind mocked, interjecting before the train of thought even ended.

A scowl settled on her usually soft features, and she glanced up to see if Setsuna had noticed any of her internal battle. She sighed, relieved, when she saw Setsuna still blankly staring at the blanket. Her beautiful Secchan.

Ever since that fateful night, Setsuna had slowly begun to distance herself, burying herself in mission after mission, training session after training session, yet never neglecting her obligations as her safe keeper. She wasn´t ever in speaking proximity, but Konoka could always feel her presence, looming not far from her, ready to strike as danger neared.

As time had passed, their everyday life slowly, very slowly, seemed to gain back some of their previous normalcy. They talked for a few minutes, exchanged pleasantries, they met, ate together, sometimes worked on homework together – up to maybe a month ago. Konoka genuinely had no idea what was invoking such sudden reaction, and feared that Setsuna was going to distance herself again.

Images of her days alone flashed before her mind´s eye, lonely and miserable without her… her… _Secchan_. That´s what she was; Secchan, summed up, the epitome of everything of worth that she was living for. And if she lost that again…

She often wondered what would have happened if she had never grudged Setsuna her small piece of happiness that excluded her. Would they have stayed such close friends, or maybe… maybe…

Konoka quickly blinked her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to regain enough of her composure to not break down right in front of Setsuna, but rather in her room, preferably alone. Even though Asuna is one of her best friends, she certainly didn´t need to be bombarded with questions as soon as she was through the door.

Swiftly plastering a smile on her face, Konoka nodded to herself. "Sure, just tell me when you´re ready. This won´t run away."

Setsuna winced at the forced tone, knowing her selfish actions once more proved to effectively hurt the one person she had sworn to shield from any harm, physically as emotionally.

_`Great job, Setsuna,´_ she mentally congratulated herself, punching blindly into the blankets as the door clicked shut behind a quickly fleeing Konoka.

With a deep groan rumbling through her chest, she let her body fall back into the cushions, finally letting the covers slide back down to her shirt-clad midsection. She knew she couldn´t keep indulging in her pity fest forever and needed to get out of bed. Her soiled clothes and linens screamed for a run in the washing machine, and most importantly, she needed to talk to Konoka as soon as possible. How and exactly about what, she didn´t know yet, but an apology was probably the best way to start.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly got up, stretching and raking as she tried to get all the knots out of her muscles. She certainly wasn´t used to almost… _neglecting_ her body like that, and instantly noticed the little difference in her movements.

Swearing never to let her body wither away like that again, to rise in the future even one hour earlier than regular for her morning training, she grabbed every article of fabric on her bed and walked into the small adjacent bathroom and put everything in the washer. Quickly shedding her clothes, doing alike, she jumped into the shower and hoped the cold water would somehow manage to calm her body down.

After ten minutes, she stood toweled, dressed, and less horny than in a long time in her small kitchenette. Just as she was about to open the fridge and rummage through the cupboards in dire need for some nutrition, loud banging at her door interrupted her.

"Setsuna! Setsuna, open the fuck up!" Asuna´s voice loudly penetrated the wood and cement of both the door and the walls.

The person in question sighed tiredly. She could already guess what this was going to be about, with Asuna being one of Konoka´s best friends and roommate. Of course she knew what had happened and was ready to give her a piece of mind.

"…not like I don´t deserve it," Setsuna whispered to herself, walking towards the slowly budging door with each of Asuna´s hits.

Opening it, she was greeted with a coldly glaring redhead. Even though Setsuna expected a greeting more of a fuming, hot-blazing anger kind of way, she was not surprised that Asuna seemed genuinely upset with her, judging by her expression.

"You know," Asuna crossed her arms above her chest, taking a step closer to Setsuna, not even giving her a chance to explain. "You´ve been behaving like the lowest bitch these past days. I´ve no idea what´s crawled up your ass, but you sure as hell don´t need to be taking it out on Konoka, alright?"

Asuna paused for a moment, seeing the anger and frustration rise in the other girl´s eyes. Shrugging it off, she continued in an equally angry tone, the memory of Konoka´s distraught state as she came home still fresh on her mind.

"She´s crying right now, wondering what _she_ has done to upset you. Blaming _herself_ for whatever made you reject her like that." Asuna chuckled, void of any humor. "But we both know what´s really going on, don´t we?"

Setsuna´s anger was momentarily forgotten at the redhead´s words, and her eyes widened at the implication they held.

Asuna smirked at the reaction she elicited in the other girl. Before she could say another word though, a loud melody rang through the vicinity of Setsuna´s room. The redhead could clearly identify it as the headmaster´s personally assigned ringtone of the dark-haired girl´s cell, and knew that the conversation was probably over for now.

She sighed. Setsuna could be so stubborn in all her insecurities sometimes, words failed to express the sheer frustration Asuna sometimes felt when she saw the swordsman so decidedly robbing not only herself, but also one of her best friends, of easily obtainable happiness. This time however, the redhead wouldn´t just stand by, shaking her head in incomprehension every once in a while on a particularly bad day. If she had to give a few forceful pushes in the right direction, she would. For both Konoka´s and Setsuna´s sakes.

The latter was already across the room and picked up the call, the urgent voice that greeted her keeping her from paying much attention to Asuna. She faintly registered Asuna say something to her, but as she turned to respond, the redhead had already disappeared back into the hallways of their dorm.

"Don´t be a coward, Setsuna. Doesn´t really suit you," the words repeated in her ear, leaving a bitter feeling in their wake, and she felt her hand tightly clench around the small piece of technology in her hand.

The swordsman controlledly exhaled, her grip not slackening however, and focused back on the conversation at hand.

_`As if it was that easy…´ _

--

**A/N:** Well, nothing really impressing yet, plot-wise. There will be some twists introduced next chapter and the setting for the story (or rather a major part of it) will change to a whole different scene. This is obviously my take on the characters, so not necessarily IC. Next chapter will probably be out sometime during the next two or three days, since they aren´t really that long. No guarantees on that though, you never know if I feel like being lazy the next few days. Length may vary throughout the chapters, though nothing shorter than this.

Oh, and as you see, even though this is written in third person, the focus does shift from character to character every once in a while, exploring a bit of their inner workings. Just thought I should clear that up before questions arise. Seems like our two heroines aren´t quite on the same page, though. :)

Anyway. Thanks for reading, and feedback is welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Blank Draws: Chapter 2**

Konoe Konoemon released a deep breath as he leaned back into his black desk chair, the comfortable, soft leather of his seat unfortunately doing little to calm his mind.

The information he had just received left him with a cold feeling in its wake, and he couldn´t even exactly pinpoint what brought it about. A threat to his granddaughter´s life was not that uncommon, no matter how macabre that sounded. It was a fact that she would sooner or later inherit one of the most powerful organizations in both the human and magic world, with herself being the proclaimed fountain of limitless magical power as the leader. It was only natural that there were people who´d find an interest in either eliminating the threat she´d pose to their contrary goals, or simply use her magical supply as a means to get to what they want.

But somehow, the hardly noteworthy situation that had loomed about for around a few weeks had made an unexpected, rather dangerous turn. He certainly hadn´t expected for the situation to get out of hand that quickly, if at all with the excellent staff he´d already sent out, but the situation now required of him to act accordingly.

Neither his granddaughter nor Setsuna would be pleased with the arrangements he´d made to ensure Konoka´s safety, but he knew that in the end, Setsuna would comply with what was best for his granddaughter. And that was following his instructions no matter how she felt towards it; and in the case now – uncomfortable, probably.

The headmaster was not oblivious to the rising tension between Konoka and her dear protector, having noticed the sudden change of mood in his granddaughter and the increasing request for missions outside of Mahora from Setsuna. He didn´t necessarily understand what had caused the growing distance between the former best friends, but he still in his old age had keen, supporting eyes for their friendship.

Scratching through his graying beard, he couldn´t help but smile again at the idea that´d settled in his mind after he received the unwelcome information of a well needed change of plans. They may not be comfortable with his genius, he reckons, idea at first, but in the end, he was sure they´d turn out to be very grateful for his particular kind of interference.

Hearing a knock on his wooden office door, he bit back the smile and called for his expected company to enter.

_`Yes, this surely is going to be interesting,´_ he thought as he saw the already grim mask of a certain dark-haired swordsman standing in the threshold, her beloved sword in hand and looking ready for a fight he knew she was not expecting.

--

"Konoka, would you please eat something?"

The brunette girl barely looked up at the concerned voice, a hint of irritation not amiss. For the better half of the last ten minutes, Konoka had shown an exceptional interest in moving one piece of meat from one side of her plate to the other, dexterously evading the barely touched rest of her meal on the plate.

Asuna could only shake her head in disapproval, a bit lost as to how to handle the situation. It was not unusual for her best friend to sulk at times, that she knew. Konoka had proven that already around two years ago. The sudden change in mood in her best friend was at times barely noticeable, but most definitely visible on days when the mage seemed just too tired to pretend. Her chipper and cheerful tone had made way to… a sort of depression, almost, Asuna had feared.

She had no idea of the circumstances of the incident that brought all that about, but she had, however, found a good guess in Setsuna being part of the reason. Her two friends had barely hung out anymore, not even sneaking awkward glances across the classroom, like high school sweethearts, just too shy to admit to their real feelings.

Sometimes, it had been cute, sickeningly cute, but after a few years of exactly zero change in the basis of their relationship, Asuna had to admit, as most of the rest of her class, that she´d found herself bashing her head against a very, very hard wall more than once at their unfounded stupidity and stubbornness.

Now, she actually did nothing more than wish Konoka´s and Setsuna´s flitting around each other back. Asuna surely didn´t want to admit it, but she truly missed it.

_`Gah, they´re both so irritating!´_ Asuna thought angrily, her fork producing a loud, startling sound as it landed on her half finished plate.

She barely looked at the slightly widened brown eyes peeking up at her in curiosity and worry. Shoving her chair back, she grabbed her jacket hanging over the backrest and stormed away from the table, towards the door.

Barely there, she heard a quiet, broken whisper, barely discernible, but Asuna still caught the sound. "You just don´t understand…"

"Yeah, and fucking glad I don´t…" was the only muttered response Konoka received after a hesitant pause before she heard the slamming of the door, shaking the door in its hinges and leaving Konoka alone with her hardly touched meal.

Her fork soon followed Asuna´s and lay desolately in the midst of the leftovers.

--

Setsuna closed the headmaster´s door behind her with a heavy thud. Leaning back against it, she closed her eyes and tried to process the information she had just received.

"I can´t believe this," she muttered angrily, her fist clenching around the handle of her Yuunagi with a knuckle-whitening force as she mentally ran the specific details through her mind.

_`…for an indefinite period of time... alone with Konoka… isolated in a small cabin far away from the rest of civilization…´_ The headmaster´s words rang through her mind, settling with a perturbing feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Pushing herself off of the door with a deep grunt, she made her way towards her dorm room in short, slow strides, trying to delay the inevitably imminent start of Konoemon´s plan.

--

Konoka let out yet another frustrated sigh, penetrating the unnerving silence in the empty room. Burying her head deeper into the heaps of cushions on her bed, she wondered when and _if_ Asuna was going to come back.

She was, after all, not blind to the fact that her best friend was slowly getting fed up with her apparent reluctance to get things between her and Setsuna back on track.

A fact Asuna was missing, however, was that Setsuna´s compliance was of most utter importance, too, and sadly in no way ensured. Setsuna had had, after all, all the cards in her hand and had consciously decided to keep her distance from the young mage. Even now they had barely reconciled.

Something Konoka really couldn´t fault Setsuna for, the blame having to be placed mostly on herself in this case.

"Konoka?" a call shook her out of her thoughts.

Before her mouth was able to produce an answer, the door to her room was opened. Peeking around the post of her bunk, she saw a familiar, huffing figure entering the room, three fully packed duffel bags in tow.

"Secchan?" the mage cocked her head in confusion before another thought came to the forefront of her mind. "What are you doing here?! You´re sick, get back to bed!"

A flash of panic and guilt fluttered across the samurai´s features Konoka didn´t really understand, but nonetheless, she rushed over to her slightly sweaty guardian and ushered her towards one of the chairs in the kitchen, concerned about her friend´s health.

Setsuna reluctantly complied and set her bags down next to the table, fixing a serious gaze on Konoka and stopping her effectively from putting on a kettle for some hot tea, or something else she´d suspected the brunette to do.

"What´s going on?" Konoka voiced her concerns again, stepping closer to the other girl and putting a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Setsuna cleared her throat and averted her gaze from the piercing brown staring down at her. "Your grandfather called me some time ago, telling me that there has been an… unexpected situation coming up that requires you to leave the confines of Mahora Academy for the time being."

She spared a quick look at the shocked features of the mage, and quickly, but softly continued. "I, as your guardian, will be responsible for your safe arrival and residence at the assigned location for us to spend an undetermined amount of time, until said situation has been resolved."

Brown eyebrows furrowed. "What does that mean, Secchan? I can´t just-"

"It´s an order, and your safety holds the highest priority, Konoka. You know that," Setsuna interjected gently, being far from excited about their current predicament herself. "And what it means, is that you´ll be packing. Best would be now."

Giving the overwhelmed mage a last, tight smile, Setsuna grabbed her bags and made her way to the door, fully intent on waiting outside.

"No," Konoka´s sharp voice cut through her halfway. "Not while you´re still sick. I won´t risk you getting worse, no matter what grandpa´s orders are."

"You," she added in a quiet voice, "are _my_ priority, Secchan. So, no. I won´t pack until you´re back to health again."

The lump that had formed in Setsuna´s throat seemed to get bigger and bigger with each of the brunette´s words. She couldn´t believe that her stupidity came back to, for a lack of a better term, bite her in the ass again.

To endanger her Ojou-sama´s life in that kind of way… She could clearly see the words ` complete failure´ being stapled to her forehead somewhere in the near future.

_`Useless, spineless, moronic, pathetic piece of-´_

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Setsuna internally braced herself for what she was about to do. One look back to the kitchen, and she still saw Konoka standing there, her whole posture speaking of defiance and resolve.

"I´m," Setsuna began in a cracking voice, but her tone still forceful and drenched in a mixture of guilt, frustration and sincerety. "I´m not sick. It was just… I- I´m sorry I… You just wouldn´t…"

Tearing her eyes away from the face that slowly darkened in comprehension and realization, Setsuna ran a shaky hand through her dark mane, trying to do anything else than let the oncoming flow of guilt and self-hatred swallow her.

There was just no way for her to explain the situation and to assure the other girl that there was no fault on her part, without giving away her own perverted, inacceptable feelings.

Setsuna sighed deeply. She just kept screwing up and up and up, and maybe Konoka should better just-

"I will request someone else to protect me, then. You can stay here. I wouldn´t want to keep you from your studies," Setsuna distantly registered Konoka finishing her train of thought.

Whipping her head around to the mage as the words seeped in, the samurai´s eyes widened at the blank look on the other girl´s face. Chocolate-brown eyes kept staring straight through her, and before Setsuna´s mouth was able to connect with her brain, she had already uttered a single word.

"No."

The emotion and tone transporting that one word did not only surprise Konoka, but in an equal manner, if not more, Setsuna. The dark-haired girl blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the momentary loss of control of her speech. She surely had not intended to speak – yes, almost _growl_ - out that word in that very instance.

Flustered and not exactly sure what to say, Setsuna muttered a quick apology.

"Ah," the perplexed response came. "I… I´ll just pack my things then, yes?"

Konoka ignored the surprised look on Setsuna´s face and made her way towards her closet.

_`Just what was that…?´_ the brunette wondered in astonishment, barely able to form a thought above the intense drumming of her heart.

Her hand unconsciously went to her chest, and she could clearly feel the extreme pounding. With that one word from Setsuna, it was as if all the doubt she had concerning her guardian´s feelings on the matter had vanished. There was just a plain desire to keep Setsuna by her side, and _not_ request for someone else.

Setsuna watched her friend, partly in awe, partly in suspicion, wordlessly pack clothes and toiletries into a bag. She knew how stubborn Konoka could be at times, and to resolve the whole issue with only one syllable from the young samurai…?

_`Better not to dwell on it,´ _Setsuna concluded with a shrug. _`The important thing is that I can have Ojou-sama in safety very soon.´_

Shaking the eerie feeling that the impulse that had rushed through her left completely off, she continued to watch Konoka.

Good five minutes later, they both stood outside school grounds on their way to their car, when Konoka spoke up for the first time since leaving the dorm room.

"What about Asuna? Won´t she wonder where I am?"

Not letting the concern in the voice affect her, the dark-haired girl quickly answered, "She was already informed of the situation. Asuna-san is assigned to watch and protect the vehicle we travel in, and already in position. I apologize; it is too late for you to bid her goodbyes for the time being."

Setsuna kept staring straight forward, in no real need to lay eyes on the sad expression on Konoka´s face, and kept her awareness of the surrounding on the highest level.

A few minutes later, the silence still prevailed as they got into the rather conspicuous black BMW. A nod at the middle-aged driver and a look to her right at Konoka, who was still staring out of the window, deep in thought, Setsuna settled back into the black leather seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

_`This is going to be a long, long ride…´_

--

Three hours of car ride, and one hour of traveling on foot to their destination later, Setsuna found herself fairly exhausted. Not necessarily physically, but more emotionally with the tense and awkward atmosphere she had spent the last four hours in.

Looking around the supposedly location of their new home for the next period of time, the samurai hoped she had remembered the directions the headmaster had given her correctly, since there wasn´t really anything else than wild nature around them; hadn´t been for an hour, to be exact, when they´d been kicked out of the car at a vacant roadside.

"Secchan!"

Releasing her grip on the bags at the shout, her hand went immediately to Yuunagi and she spun around, eyes searching her surroundings for anything resembling to a threat. Not seeing Konoka anywhere, she couldn´t help the string of curses escaping her mouth in a rush.

"Konoka?" She called after a moment, the panicked edge in her voice barely concealed and eyes never stopping their scan of the area around her.

Half a second later, a brunette head popped out from a tangle of branches and leaves. Releasing a deep, relieved sigh, Setsuna relaxed her stance visibly and turned to the actually smiling girl.

Before she was able to reprimand her young Ojou-sama for her reckless behavior, the mage´s excited voice beat her to it.

"I found it," she called, and the grin on her face widened. "And it´s so cozy, Secchan! It´s unbelievable!" she continued to gush, earning herself a well hidden eye roll and smile from her protector.

"Alright, let´s go, then," Setsuna agreed, and after picking up the recently discarded bags, led the way to where Konoka was animatedly pointing towards.

The walk was not half a minute long before they´d reached a small clearing, in the middle of it an old wooden cabin. Almost completely surrounded by the blossoms of the rich forest, even Setsuna had to admit that it truly was an otherworldly place to exist in a world like theirs.

_`Ojou-sama did not exaggerate at all,´_ Setsuna confirmed, her eyes trailing over the beautifully, yet simply manufactured structure of the cottage.

She had to admit, the place had a certain air of security and peace that gave her immediately a very homey feeling.

_`Yes, maybe this isn´t going to be as bad as I thought it was going to turn out,´ _she concluded with a small smile as her eyes traveled to Konoka, looking around in wonder and wearing one of the first genuine smiles Setsuna had seen for a very long time.

--

_`Or maybe not,´_ the dark-haired girl quickly corrected her earlier statement when her eyes fell upon the interior of their future home.

They´d been through all the rooms, including a small-sized kitchenette, a petite bathroom at the other end of the cabin, and a cozy living space connecting them both. But now, behind a brittle wooden door to the last room, they both stood a bit helplessly and awkwardly as their gaze landed on where they´d be sleeping.

"One bed," Setsuna croaked out, stupidly as she not too much later realized, stating the obvious. _`And a very, very tiny one at that,´_ she mentally added, her panic probably written all over her face.

Her soon-to-be roommate obviously did too, and even though the protector only saw the puffed cheeks out of the corner of eye, she clearly heard the playful indignation in the brunette´s voice as she spoke.

"Mou, Secchan, we´ve slept together all the time when we were little." Konoka gently nudged her elbow and enunciated her pout even more. "So, don´t be such a party-pooper, Secchan, please?"

Setsuna swallowed hard, the pout, red, huffed cheeks, and puppy eyes making it rather hard on her to refuse.

Before her resolve could weaken any more, she tried one last feeble attempt.

"But, Konoka," she reasoned with the brunette, "that was when we were kids. Now, we´re older, and it´s just…" she trailed off, not really knowing how to explain the matter herself, without stepping into territory she was anything else than ready to tread.

The hardened look in the other´s eyes left her to wish, though, that she´d just kept her mouth shut and agreed with her Ojou-sama´s wishes like a good guardian and protector was supposed to do.

Not getting a chance to apologize, Konoka´s dejected voice already sounded through the small room.

"If that´s what you want, I´m going to go and set a bed up for myself on the couch. This room is yours for all I care."

Wandering over to the bed in a stoic stride, Konoka grabbed one of the two blankets already set on the bed, and swiftly made her way out of the room. She didn´t once look back at the crumbling face of her friend as she shut the door with a quiet `click´ behind her, leaving a distraught figure to ponder about the repercussions the incident was going to bring about.

Least to say, Setsuna suddenly felt like crying.

--

**A/N: **Ahh, what to say, what to say… First of all, I´m really sorry for the long delay in updates, but real life seriously caught up with me. My new girlfriend (yay for me ^.^) requires lots and lots of attention since she´s been through a pretty shitty thing not long ago. :( Plus, school sucks big time, and since I´ve been a pretty lazy bum all my life, I´ve got to catch up on all the stuff I didn´t bother to learn all those years. :/ Yeah, most of my exams and stuff start to count for graduation, so I gotta keep that in focus.

Yeah, I don´t really think the little details of my private life all that much interest you, so I´m just gonna wish you a good day (if you actually pulled through till here), and be on my way. :)


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